Today’s outing began with a walk to Gigi’s Coffee, just down the road from Kristina’s apartment. The kids wanted to stay at home, so I walked there myself. It was a place with an energy that seems to draw in creative people — including, this morning, what looked like a number of ballerinas coming and going, likely from a nearby ballet school. The atmosphere felt alive and full of possibility. While in the café, I noticed a bathroom wall flyer for a Writers’ Open Mic held on the first Thursday of every month. That immediately sparked the idea of maybe reading one of my stories there one day.
I researched the Creative Writing program at the University of Victoria. I learned about its strong national ranking, its genre-diverse undergraduate workshops, its highly respected MFA with one-on-one mentorship, and its affordability, along with flexible Continuing Studies courses offered both online and in person.
On the walk back from the coffee shop, I stopped off at a pharmacy and picked up some Gravol for Bobby for our planned “Trip Adventures.” I then walked a few doors down to Fairway Market in Quadra Village to pick up soup stock, microwave popcorn, Arctic Bars for Bobby, and Strawberry Shortcake bars for Katie.
Midday brought an unexpected errand: Bobby broke a plate, and my wife mentioned it was from Costco. That sent us driving out to the Langford Costco, the closest one, to see if we could replace it. Unfortunately, if it was indeed a Costco design, they no longer carry it. Since we were already out, we considered grabbing a meal. Our ideas ranged from White Spot to a diner, but nothing stuck. Along the way, we passed Marshalls and decided to pop in. Katie found some clothes she liked, and I picked up an RC boat for Bobby (see photo to the right).
Kristina’s son called this evening. I was driving through Langford and was not totally focused on the conversation, but he mentioned the idea of taking Bobby up on his airplane on Wednesday. I texted him later in the evening mentioning that he is prone to motion sickness. Not sure if that matters, but he needs to be aware.
Before heading home, we made a second stop at Fairway Market in Quadra Village. Katie grabbed potato chips, Maple Leaf cookies, and lemonade for our evening documentary, Bobby picked out a Pez dispenser with candy, and I picked up a jar of pickles and some mustard.
I looked into whale watching in Victoria, but when Bobby heard that the whale watching tour we were considering would last over three hours, he quickly decided he didn’t want to go.
In the evening, we huddled around the television, ate snacks, and wound down at home. We watched “What Archaeological Sites Used to Look Like” on YouTube while enjoying our snacks. Bobby made it to bed by 9 pm tonight.